The Car I Love to Hate
It’s no secret how I feel about Mr. Mingle’s Saturn. This car has plagued me since I met him. First it was the little matter of the registration expiring and needing to pay for the towing and to get it out of the impound lot. No sooner had we got it out of that mess, there was a flat tire. Then some ‘hooligans’ came along and scratched obscenities in the vehicle.
Then came the reign of parking at the West Oakland Bart Station which led to 2 or 3 windows being broken (we lost count), and of course the oft talked about car-theft which occurred twice. To my chagrin it was found both times – the first time cost us to fix the clutch which they destroyed, the second time we had to pay for the towing charges and to get it out of the impound lot (again). The police have no sympathy for the victim – if it’s your car, you pay everything to get it back (whether you want it or not).
There were the other things we just didn’t fix knowing it wasn’t worth it – the droopy headliner, the broken stereo and the broken-down seats for example. It rattles with every stop, and when Mr. Mingle gets home at night I can hear him coming because his radio is so loud it cuts clear through the car and the house. Why this occurs I have no idea considering he only has one rear speaker, and he listens to NPR. A long time ago I named the car “Sella”, so I could say “Sella Saturn…get it? Sella Saturn!!”
Sella’s saving grace was that once Mr. Mingle started commuting 50 miles each day, the car was getting over 30 miles per gallon, which was nothing to scoff at. Until I realized he also had to buy a quart of oil each time he filled up on gas – so I’m not sure the cost savings was all that great.
But today was the day I have been waiting for …. Today we bought Mr. Mingle a new car! We’ve been shopping around for quite awhile, looking for a fuel efficient car that we both liked, and one which made sense price-wise. Finally, we settled on a Scion xA. It gets 37 miles per gallon on the highway, it’s only 154 inches long which is perfect for parking in the city, and it has a lot of bells and whistles for an affordable price.
Finally, the day has come – we can Sella Saturn!! (get it? Get it?!)
Then came the reign of parking at the West Oakland Bart Station which led to 2 or 3 windows being broken (we lost count), and of course the oft talked about car-theft which occurred twice. To my chagrin it was found both times – the first time cost us to fix the clutch which they destroyed, the second time we had to pay for the towing charges and to get it out of the impound lot (again). The police have no sympathy for the victim – if it’s your car, you pay everything to get it back (whether you want it or not).
There were the other things we just didn’t fix knowing it wasn’t worth it – the droopy headliner, the broken stereo and the broken-down seats for example. It rattles with every stop, and when Mr. Mingle gets home at night I can hear him coming because his radio is so loud it cuts clear through the car and the house. Why this occurs I have no idea considering he only has one rear speaker, and he listens to NPR. A long time ago I named the car “Sella”, so I could say “Sella Saturn…get it? Sella Saturn!!”
Sella’s saving grace was that once Mr. Mingle started commuting 50 miles each day, the car was getting over 30 miles per gallon, which was nothing to scoff at. Until I realized he also had to buy a quart of oil each time he filled up on gas – so I’m not sure the cost savings was all that great.
But today was the day I have been waiting for …. Today we bought Mr. Mingle a new car! We’ve been shopping around for quite awhile, looking for a fuel efficient car that we both liked, and one which made sense price-wise. Finally, we settled on a Scion xA. It gets 37 miles per gallon on the highway, it’s only 154 inches long which is perfect for parking in the city, and it has a lot of bells and whistles for an affordable price.
Finally, the day has come – we can Sella Saturn!! (get it? Get it?!)
Mr. Mingle's New Ride
3 comments:
NPR...ouch. Mingle needs a little Michael Savage in his life.
Sweet ride! Très Européen. :)
yeah! Hey, maybe you can leave the brand new car somewhere fun for the house-sitter of the year to use...just a suggestion!
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